Design a Coat Closet that Works

A coat closet can become a storage space or your organizational paradise. You may not feel like you have much to work with, because most coat closets are very small. But, you can use these tips to make the most use out of absolutely every inch of that coat closet and get your house in order.



The coat closet is really used for more than just coats. Most families need to store backpacks, their laptops, sports equipment and more in this tiny space, just to keep it from piling up in the living room. The more people you have in the house, the more important it is to organize this space. You can create an easy-to-use system that works for your family.



Everyone has individual needs and habits. The goal here is to work with those habits so that using an organization system in your coat closet comes easy. If someone in your house comes in and kicks off their shoes by the front door every day, then put a bench or cedar box that closes there. The shoes will have a place to go, no more than a couple of feet away from where this person is going to take them off, anyway.



This is the idea that you want to have in your head when you start debating how to organize this little closet. If no one takes off their shoes there, then make another place for shoes by the door. That just frees up more space in the coat closet. You can put bins, boxes, baskets or shelves down there for each family member. They can put their laptop, book bag, sports bag, or other belongings on their own shelf.



It is also a good idea to put hooks, if possible, on the inside walls of the closet. Here you can hang tote bags, purses, scarves and more. If you have about six inches of horizontal space on a wall, you can hang a small basket for each family member down the wall. Hang each one at a descending height congruent with their age, or whatever determining factor you come up with. You can label each basket with their names. They can throw their keys, wallets, phones and change in their own basket, reducing house clutter and time spent searching for things when it's time to leave the house.



Another great way to organize the closet is to utilize the door space. There are a lot of over-the-door organizers that are perfect for holding things like gloves, hats and scarves in the winter. You may look at pantry door organizers to find one that would most benefit your family. For example, let's say you get a pantry organizer that has different sized movable baskets. You can have deep baskets for hats, medium ones for scarves, and shallow ones for gloves. You can hang multiple baskets for each family member so that no one has to dig when looking for their other mitten.



Store coats that you don't use a lot in other closets. Try to keep the coat closet reserved for your everyday items. Use sturdy hangers to hang coats so that they do not break and result in your coats on the floor. Many clothes hangers work great, but a wood hanger or specially designed coat hanger works best.





About the Author: Joe Granville is on the staff of Only Hangers, a leading online resource for wood hangers, coat hangers and all types of clothes hangers which is recognized for the excellent quality and value of its wood hanger and coat hanger offerings. For more information, please visit http://www.onlyhangers.com.